Baker v. Diocese of Worcester et al.

Pending

Overview

GLAD and the ACLU of Massachusetts submitted an amicus brief to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination in this case involving the alleged sexual harassment of a college summer intern by a priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester (MA) and a claim of retaliation in the investigation process by another priest of the Diocese.

The Diocese and its priests claim they are exempt from certain types of damages on the basis of the “ministerial exception” in the law, and the MCAD agreed and went further and dismissed the claims in their entirety based on the exception. GLAD and the ACLU argue that the MCAD has both misconceived the nature of the claims asserted, and gone too far in applying the ministerial exception.